Government

As debate over the Affordable Care Act swirls in Washington, insurance officials this week agreed to allow South Carolina’s only individual plan on the state’s ACA exchange to raise its premiums 31 percent next year.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina initially asked for a 33.4 percent increase, saying this year’s premiums did not generate nearly enough to cover the insurer’s claims, taxes and administrative expenses.

INDIAN LAND – A Lancaster County Council committee is targeting a 2,200-square-foot space at The Commons of Doby’s Bridge as a possible site for satellite county government offices in the Panhandle.
The strip center is at 8451 Charlotte Highway, just past the Gate station on U.S. 521 North.
“It has come at a very opportune time that we didn’t know about before,” said County Attorney John Weaver, who has been scouting for an Indian Land location since May.

Lancaster City Council voted 5-2 Tuesday night to appoint Brenda Thompson to the Lancaster City Housing Authority Board.
She will fill the position left open by the July 20 resignation of board member Lorenzo Small. Mayor John Howard and council member Hazel Taylor cast the dissenting votes.
“I’ve been wanting to serve the Lancaster community for some time,” Thompson said. “And this is an opportunity for me to give back to the community.”

Now that the S.C. Supreme Court has upheld the Lancaster City Council District 3 election results, affected parties are discussing how to prevent or shorten future such controversies.
The ideas include:
◆ Getting the S.C. legislature to change municipal election laws to mirror the statutes for county and state elections, which allow more initial time to resolve disputes.

Before giving the measure final approval Tuesday night, the Lancaster County Council reduced the new stormwater fee for Panhandle homeowners from $75 to $60 a year.
The fee will be added to upcoming tax bills and applies to the area from S.C. 5 north to the county line. That portion of the county (Indian Land) is now considered to be in Charlotte’s urban area, with more than 1,000 residents per square mile.

Nine candidates filed for the four town council seats in Van Wyck’s upcoming inaugural election, but just one person signed up to be mayor – Sean Corcoran.
Corcoran, 42, was one of three incorporation commissioners who led the last stages of the organizing effort.
An attorney at the law firm Brock & Scott in Charlotte, he said Tuesday he was surprised no one else filed for the mayor’s job – and that so many people jumped into the council race.

In a unanimous opinion late Thursday, the S.C Supreme Court affirmed Linda Blackmon’s election to the Lancaster City Council’s District 3 seat, which had been held up since last November by a legal challenge from her opponent.
“I feel amazing…. It’s been tough,” said Blackmon, who beat incumbent Jackie Harris in the Nov. 8 election by a 281-225 vote.
The Supreme Court’s decision, issued as an administrative opinion, upholds Circuit Judge Brian Gibbons’ Feb. 16 ruling that allowed the election results to stand.

The quest for much-needed space has Lancaster County officials eyeing a plan that would move the county library and S.C. Department of Social Services to the Springs Block in downtown Lancaster.
“We like seeing people downtown,” said Lancaster County Council Chairman Steve Harper. “It’s definitely a great idea.”
The plan was included in a capital-needs report reviewed at Monday night’s county council meeting.

Panhandle residents might get some sort of satellite county government offices in the not-so-distant future.
Lancaster County Council directed staff Monday night to flesh out the concept of leasing office space in Indian Land.
“From a customer-service standpoint, it’s something we need to do, but we are under financial constraints,” said Lancaster County Administrator Steve Willis.

It didn’t take Lancaster County Councilman Brian Carnes long Monday night to vent his frustration over the proposed stormwater ordinance that would add $75 to the tax bills of Panhandle homeowners.
Before the third and final reading on the ordinance, council members were presented a number of changes to the proposal, but had no time to study the 30-page document.
An indignant Carnes immediately made a motion to postpone the final reading of the controversial ordinance until Sept. 11. The public hearing was held as scheduled Monday.